Russian billionaire to found 'Jewish Al-Jazeera'

Russian “oligarch” and Jewish philanthropist Alexander Mashkevich announced on Wednesday his intention to found a Jewish version of Al-Jazeera.

"Every day and every hour people get negative information about Israel," Mashkevich said at the Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal conference in Washington D.C. "Therefore, the most important thing is to represent Israel on an international level, with real information."

Mashkevich plans to found an international, professional news station as
a response to unreliable reports on Israel. He says the station will
not be a source of propaganda, but will tell the truth.

"I think this idea should be implemented. I already spoke about it
several years ago with Israeli government officials and with influential
people in the Jewish world, and everyone agrees that such a channel is
necessary," he said.

Mashkevich, a native of Kyrgyzstan who became a billionaire through
investments in Kazakhstan during perestroika, admitted that founding
such a channel would not be simple, because of its high costs, but said
that he plans to officially present it in Israel in a few months.

There is a lot of interest in the news channel, the billionaire said, all that's missing is a name.